1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the sport of flyfishing, specifically to a seine net which is stored and transported on the handle of a landing net.
A seine is a section of mesh netting material which is submerged into the water in order to collect and examine insects in a river or stream. It is considered to be a fundamental tool and is generally regarded as a necessity in order to become successful in the sport. The identification of insects, particularly their size, shape, and color is of great importance to the angler. This observation process is significant since the selection of an artificial fly pattern should be based upon matching the insects which are present in the water at any given time.
2. Prior Art
There are basically two types of seines currently available, the dowel seine and the drawstring seine.
The dowel seine is a large rectangular section of mesh netting with dowels up to 2 feet long attached along opposite edges. To deploy this seine the angler wades onto the stream without his fishing rod, unrolls the netting from the dowels, and submerges the netting while holding both dowels apart. After the angler has collected and examined the insects, this process is reversed for retrieval and onshore storage of the seine. While the overall size of this seine is minimized by rolling it up, the length of the dowels makes it cumbersome to carry or transport, especially through the underbrush.
Due to its time-consuming operation, the dowel seine is usually deployed only once before the angler begins fishing, and perhaps sporadically thereafter. Since it would be unfeasible to use while the angler is wading in midstream with his fishing rod, this seine is limited to providing only single samplings of insects over a period of time. Due to the fact that insect activity is constantly changing in relation to water temperature and climactic factors, its inability to be used continuously represents its major drawback.
The second kind of seine is a drawstring style. This seine consists of an oval-shape section of netting which employs a drawstring around its perimeter. This seine is attached by laying it over the oval frame opening of a landing net, and is secured by drawing and tying the strings together on the other side of the frame.
This seine is transported in a pocket which is commonly zippered and sometimes located on the inside of the fishing vest. As a result, it can be awkward to access while holding onto the pocket, the zipper, and the fishing rod at the same time. Attaching this seine in midstream is even more cumbersome since it must be fastened with both hands while simultaneously holding onto both the the fishing rod and the net to which it attaches. After use, the net has to be untied, removed, and replaced inside a vest pocket. Since retrieving and deploying this seine is inconvenient and time-consuming, the angler cannot feasibly fish and seine for insects at the same time. As a result, this seine does not allow for the continuous capture of the different insects that will emerge and float by while the angler is fishing.
While it would be ideal to leave the drawstring seine tied onto the oval frame at all times in a readiness condition, the landing net could then not be utilized to net a fish since the seine would have to be untied and removed with both hands.
Both of these seines are carried independently and are sometimes dropped, misplaced, or lost during the seining process. Due to the steps required to retrieve and deploy them, they are totally impractical to use when varying insect conditions require an instant seining response. As a result of their overall inefficiency, especially in midstream conditions, the angler invariably concludes that any attempt to capture an insect floating downstream would not be feasible or worthwhile.